Apparently this small yellow foam dart produced enough fear to file assault charges against the couple. (Photo credit: KMOV)

A prank at a fast food restaurant in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton Thursday has landed one couple in a bit of hot water after they pulled up to the drive-thru window and shot the restaurant worker with a foam dart from a Nerf gun.

Although the seemingly harmless joke did not actually injure anyone, police are still treating the matter very seriously.

According to local media, they drove through the drive-thru in a black SUV, but didn’t order any food. Instead, they pulled up to the window and simply shot the worker with the Nerf gun, striking her with a yellow foam dart before driving off.

The entire incident was caught on surveillance video and now 22-year-old Stephanie Winkler and 26-year-old Mark Applebaum are facing third-degree assault charges, a class C misdemeanor.

Although nobody was injured, and in fact the worker even seems a bit confused in the video as to what exactly the couple was doing as she watched them drive away, in the state of Missouri, a physical injury does not have to occur in order for assault charges to be filed. Just the mere present of fear is enough to incur third-degree assault charges.

“The Nerf dart strikes her. Nobody was injured in this case but if it hits an eye or something an injury could result from this,” said St. Louis County Police Officer Brian Schellman.

The video footage shows that Winkler was the one who pulled the trigger, but because Applebaum was the one driving the vehicle, he also faces assault charges.

Authorities have yet to determine a motive behind the alleged assault. The couple is due to appear in court April 14 and if convicted could face up to 15 days in jail and a $300 fine.

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Seriously, a nerf gun being dangerous??? If that's the case, then why the hell are they deemed safe for children? Are they less fragile or something? Hell, they might as well sue the Nerf company for creating these toys of mass destruction! Do you people truly feel so sensitive about everything that you have to sue over something as trivial as foam? Sensitive fucking lads! I can't even believe a cop was willing to feed into this. I'd fear a child shooting a cop with a soft Nerf dart.

The distinction is when kids are shooting each other with nerf or paintball guns, they have agreed to it and expect it. In the absence of that implied or explicit agreement any unwanted physical trespass that is meant to startle or scare a person is inherently mischivious. The ill intent might be very minimal but it obviously wasn't to the employees benefit. We can talk about this might be silly, but it's very difficult to draw a legal line in the sand that says one thing is ok and something is not, that's why a simple physical violation of another person is criminal even if minorly. At the end of the day they will be fined and go about their way and hopefully the employee doesn't have any fears of more dangerous things been launched at them.

Jeff Nagy Heaven forbid he gets PTSD from a whoopee cushion. Kids do not agree upon anything, they just do it. They don't sign contracts and say "okay, I am going to shoot you in the chest with a Nerf arrow, don't get mad and sue me." If that drive through attendant was shot with a real gun, then yes, get the law involved. He was mildly startled in that video. He presented a typical response to a soft and harmless toy that took him by surprise. He didn't have a seizure or something. I swear, people act so damn sensitive over little shit. Just like most of my exes.

Then you should sue everyone that simply bumps into you or steps on your foot by accident. That would be enough to sue anyone for "physical trespassing." Like I said, people are too damn sensitive over the simplest of things.

wait what.. this is considered assault? what the heck.. why are we not bringing to court the people who take swings at firefighters and EMS. you realize that EMS are assaulted frequently but no one ever slaps the cuffs on those attackers. But heaven forbid someone gets hit with a nerf dart...

I can believe a cop was sensitive enough to press charges and send em to the DA,..America has really become a nanny nation! "There outta be law against that" is the new catch phrase here. Anytime something happens, some douch nozzle politician jumps on the band wagon and creates some new BS law to further quell the masses and increase their standing with constituents. Sad.

I think the mindset you have to look at this... If you were walking along and someone pulled something and shot at you... And with little time to react and as a gun carrying American you shot back, you'd want the authorities to consider it a justifiable use of force. If maliciously shooting a nerf gun weren't categorized this way a justifiable reaction to a moment of fear in all likely hood would land you in jail for manslaughter.

Now that is a different scenario. carrying guns in the work place is not prohibited. Walking about town isn't. And still, that depends on the state laws and how they view it. Remember the recent murder of the guy in the movie theatre? He was killed over an argument ad the shooter claimed self defense because his fragile sissy ass had popcorn thrown at him. Since he is in prison with no chance of parole, maybe that means shooting and killing someone over a toy that couldn't hurt a 10 month old should be reevaluated by real men and not whiners. I have watched the news about how people are shot and killed over having their shoes stepped on. Now what sense does that even make? The recent trial of the man shooting a kid because of loud music and the fact that the now deceased juvenile mouthed off to the shooter. And the shooter claimed he feared for his life over an argument???? Sen-Si-Tive.

Generally speaking and by generally I mean all nerf guns are brightly colored, clearly made in China, pieces of plastic toy.
If you're so easily spooked that you're going to start shooting at anyone that pulls their hand out of their pocket. You need to see a shrink and not carry a gun.

These kids are facing misdemeanor charges. I didn't make that up. In some parts of the country self defense is defined broadly; a defense against a misdemeanor or felony that results in your fear of bodily harm. That type of crime is what they're charged with. An argument isn't that in the absence of a threat.

What I'm talking about is the imposed legal standard. No body wants to shoot anyone unless they're sick. I'm simply talking about the legal standards in this situation. People pull toy guns and get shot despite police training to identify those as toys; the police are innocent because of these legal standards that everyone enjoys.